


Hero

by miss_tatiana



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, and she finally proves she's really a hero, emma has recently joined the x men, some light psychological stuff, the phoenix comes back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 02:17:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11613843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_tatiana/pseuds/miss_tatiana
Summary: When the Phoenix unexpectedly returns, Jean has no other choice but to sit and wait out whatever torture would surely follow. But Emma, recently a member of the X Men after leaving the Brotherhood, finds her and struggles to rescue her.





	Hero

There was no one around. She was in the hallway next to the medical room, and no one ever strayed that deep into the school. Everything had been fine. She’d just been cleaning up the med room - she was the only one in the school that was medically certified, and the X Men tended to need a lot of patching up - and then something had hit her. Just memories, at first but then whatever it was got stronger, like she wasn’t just remembering the Phoenix, it was returning. Before she knew it, she was crumpled up on that hallway, her knees giving out and her hands too preoccupied with holding her head to break her fall. 

She couldn’t feel anything, see anything, of hear anything, just like when she was hosting the Phoenix. If she could, she would have sworn that it was back. Inside her head, there was fire. That was all she could pick up on, bright and burning, spreading throughout her entire body, no doubt, because she didn’t have the strength or consciousness to stop it. It hurt. Bones from rib size to finger size felt as though they were vibrating so quickly they would shatter into a billion pieces, and her lungs felt even worse. They were filling up with lava, so heavy and so hot that soon, she wouldn’t have room to take a breath. Her temples were pounding, and everything hurt. 

She was holding onto her head as tightly as she could, as if that would help the pain. Her fingers were pulled in so hard that the heels of her hands were bleeding, and she was almost tugging her hair from her scalp. Her teeth were clenched, but she couldn’t feel that adding to her already blinding headache. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, as close as she could get them, as though becoming as small as she possibly could would make this go away. Her toes were curled up inside her shoes, and she waited for the feeling to pass. 

All she could think - and thinking at all was a stretch - was that the Phoenix was back. The Phoenix was back. The Phoenix was back. The Phoenix was Back.

* * *

 

Emma was heading down to the file rooms and the medical room so she could grab some into she wanted to have before she departed the school with Ororo to pick up a new student. She was still getting used to life here, with the ideals of the X Men being so different from the ones she had lived under most of her life. It was a change, but she could swing it. 

She turned a corner, and saw something - someone? - at the end of the hallway. She walked over as quickly as her heels could allow, fear growing in her chest as she got close enough to see the telltale red hair. She dropped the briefcase she was carrying and knelt by Jean, pushing her hair out of her eyes to reveal tears streaming down her face. 

Emma bit her lip. She’d never had to deal with anything like this, and while she had a guess at what it might be, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face it. She wiped Jean’s tears away and wrapped her arms around the doctor, feeling Jean’s body convulse violently under the pressure. Emma took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for what she knew she had to do. It might get her hurt, but, looking down at Jean, she knew it was worth the risk. She closed her eyes, and stepped into Jean’s mind. 

Immediately, the heat scorched her. Emma winced, but refused to break the psychic link. There must have been some breach in the mental walls the Professor had given Jean, Emma thought. So, simple. Find the crack, and patch it up. 

However, it was, of course, easier thought than done. Everything was fire and space, and there wasn’t a sign of anything that could’ve been a wall. Emma reached further into Jean’s mind, knowing that they might lose her if she couldn’t fix this. She’d only been with the X Men for a few months, but she knew that Jean was the unifier, and without her, the team would fall apart.  _ Emma _ would fall apart. 

Jean was the first person to show Emma kindness when she’d showed up at the school, and Emma had begun to rely on that kindness to get her through the day. She couldn’t even picture a life without Jean. 

Emma pushed herself, delving deeper into Jean’s mind than she had ever wanted to go. Her ears were ringing, and a fire was springing up behind her temple. The Phoenix had started to affect her. She had to find the crack, she was running out of time. In a last, desperate effort, she flung her consciousness from her body and into Jean’s, and suddenly, there it was. 

A wall, not unlike the one that surrounded Cerebro - the Professor clearly had a design preference - melted into view in Jean’s mindscape, and the gap in it was miniscule. Just a tiny space between two panels and yet it had let in so much chaos. Emma willed it to shut, and it did, as easy as that. It was a psychic wall, after all. She saw the fire in Jean’s mind fade, slowly but surely, and she let her consciousness soar back into her own body. 

When Emma was securely back in her own head, Jean was beginning to open her eyes. “Jean, are you alright?” Emma gasped, the fiery mindscape venture having drained her of all energy and breath. 

Jean’s whole body was shaking, and slick with sweat. “You saved my life,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Emma, you saved my life.”

Emma didn’t say anything in response, because she knew that if she did, it would be too sappy and she’d regret it nearly immediately. She just let herself catch her breath, and held onto Jean tighter than ever. She was almost nervous that if she let go, Jean’s wall would break again. 

“I knew-” Jean stopped, a slight rest between words, because god knows she needed it. “I knew you were good.” 

Emma tried to smile, and felt tears welling up in her eyes. A few months ago, she would have disagreed. Even a few days ago, just for the point of disagreeing. But now… now she couldn’t even speak. 

“Will you- could you call Charles?” Jean asked, her voice weak. 

Emma nodded, feeling stupid for not thinking to do that sooner. She put a hand to her temple, and let Charles know what was going on. “He should be here any minute,” she said, her voice sounding too husky. 

“Will you stay until he gets here?” asked Jean, her fingers gently brushing Emma’s arm, which was wrapped around her shoulders. 

Emma nodded, a tear falling off her nose and into Jean’s hair. “Of course. I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”


End file.
